Ferry Nice Indeed ...AND HISTORY Millions of years ago sands were deposited here in shallow Don’t miss a trip on one of the Deben Peninsula’s historic foot- FULL OF MYSTERY… seas where whales and sharks swam. Prehistoric trees dropped ferries. Cross the Deben between Bawdsey and Felixstowe by Why the dark-red cliffs and grey-brown clay? pollen, inspiring modern-day scientists to recreate a Pliocene DISCOVER THE DEBEN PENINSULA little boat or enjoy being rowed across Butley River near RSPB The ‘blows’ of sand and strange lumps and forest at Sutton Knoll; a ‘mastodon’ tooth was found nearby. An ancient land, full of natural beauty & hidden surprises Boyton Marshes en route to/from Orford. The seasonal boat bumps in the haunting landscape? What Our early ancestors cleared wide stretches of heathland to services take bikes too, but best check details before setting out. happened to Suffolk’s second largest priory at graze their flocks, exposing the sandy soil. A ghostly Bawdsey Ferry: 01394 282173 (office) / 07709 411511 Butley and why was an ‘Elizabethan’ style premonition led to Basil Brown’s Sutton Hoo excavations and Ssshhhh! The peaceful Deben Peninsula is surely the Suffolk Coast’s best-kept (ferryman); Butley Ferry: aldeandore.org mansion built at Bawdsey in the 1880s? Who his discovery of Raedwald’s Anglo-Saxon ship-burial secret. Just a few miles from Ipswich or a ferry ride from Felixstowe, the stretch were the ‘Sand People’? What’s revolutionised our understanding of early England. of Suffolk Sandlings between the treasured royal Anglo-Saxon burial grounds left of ‘Goseford’, the Deben’s Another Ferry Nice ‘Tweet’ Bawdsey and Alderton merchant mariners counted of Sutton Hoo and Henry II’s towering Orford castle-keep is so much more mighty medieval shipping port Boat trips around the Alde and Ore estuary and to amongst the shipping magnets of Goseford, a long- than just an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. on a par with Lynn and Yarmouth Ancient Local Building Blocks RSPB Havergate Island from Orford quay are not lost cluster of harbours around the Deben estuary. Rivers, rolling uplands, flat coastal levels, long shingle beaches and that was more important than Can you spot where Shottisham and just for birdwatchers! Discover Suffolk’s only The Reformation saw Butley Priory fall from grace vibrant little village communities, it’s an area that’s irresistible to all who enjoy Ipswich when supplying ships to Sutton churches were repaired using natural island, the low-lying salt marshes in Butley and a Victorian stockbroker couldn’t resist splashing the great outdoors - history-rich, full of wildlife and peppered with surprises. Edward III? Did elephant ancestors ‘Boxstones’ in Victorian times? Ufford and River estuary embanked back in 1450, home to his cash on his seaside residence. Countless smugglers Hunt out the world’s first fully operational radar station or track down the really walk these lands? Why was Eyke churches include rough blocks of Red brown hares, avocets, terns, spoonbills, plus like the lover of legendary Margaret Catchpole home of Suffolk Punch horses. Take a seasonal cycle-ride or stroll out and horse-thief Margaret Catchpole Crag, whilst the medieval tower of migrating ducks and waders. Don’t forget your operated along the coast and when war threatened, crunch along pinecone paths. Get a taste for fresh asparagus or look for caught at Hollesley Bay? What are Chillesford church near Butley was built binoculars! orfordrivertrips.co.uk; rspb.org.uk everything from Napoleonic gun towers to later all the strange concrete structures totally from Coralline Crag. geosuffolk.co.uk samphire and prehistoric sharks’ teeth on the river beach. Sit on ancient Burrow Hill and see the anti-tank defences were put in place – and left behind centuries fall away by Butley’s row-boat ferry. Let your soul soar with a kite, high above rare, which dot the coast? for generations to remember. vegetated shingle shelves or follow Marsh harriers Norfolk Campsea circling above Martello towers. Go wild Superlative Stuff Ashe about picnics or enjoy something deliciously Suffolk Ramsholt (‘Rams-howlt’) • World’s first fully operational radar station - Bawdsey ADVENTUROUS LITTLE COMMUNITIES local at a thatched, ‘Suffolk pink’ pub. Coprolite pits, chicory maltings, Smallest licensed ferry in Europe - Butley Ferry Essex Discover the ‘Secret Seven’ parishes of the Deben Peninsula, just a few miles from • oyster beds, boats, farms and London the towns of Woodbridge and Orford, yet worlds apart. Surely Enid Blyton visited • A rock-type unique to Suffolk - Corraline Crag cottages - Ramsholt has ces of shipping - ‘Goseford’ and found inspiration here during her time at Seckford Hall near Woodbridge? Stay a While • One of medieval England’s top sour A12 seen them all come Melton Butley B • UK’s oldest stud for the oldest English breed of working P ut and go. Round- The uncommercialised Deben Peninsula le y Alderton (‘Auld-a-ten’) Boyton (‘Boy-ten’) towered All horse - Hollesley P Rendlesham R ❹ lends itself to get-away-from-it-all self- i P v Forest P e Orford The church tower of ‘Alderton-on-Sea’ Close to ancient Burrow Hill, old Boyton Saints’ sits alone catering stays, time-out in farmhouse and • Suffolk’s largest parish - Sutton r Woodbridge as it was known in the 1500s was a docks and its nature reserve by Butley River, on an ancient spot, Railway Station village B&Bs or a country house hotel retreat. Tangham F P landmark for ships. It collapsed around Boyton quietly remembers its industrious surrounded by wildflowers and inspiring S Whether you plump for a self-catering cottage, Key ❶ P P WC nationaltrust.org.uk P Car Parks P a decade after Martello towers were past when it was once rich from the spoils Deben views. Its quayside and river beach pitch up for some family fun at Tangham’s Forest ❶ Sutton Hoo S Boyton built on the coast nearby. By its creeper- of pottery clay and coprolite pits. Smart S N are popular spots for all sorts of paddlers Centre campsite, take the caravan for a trundle or Bawdsey Radar bawdseyradar.org.uk S Picnic site clad remains, St Andrew’s bell now has 18th century almshouses sit alongside ❷ Sutton NW NE from samphire seekers to canoeists. mooch along with the ‘mo-ho’ to stop at small- rust re Suffolk Punch T Ferry ❸ O a new stand. St Andrew’s medieval tower, but it was ❸ F r W E scale camping and caravanning sites at the heart e the Victorians who rejigged and Shottisham (‘Shot-i-shum’)’ thesuffolkpunchtrust.co.uk iv of the community, there really is room for oilets R SW SE Bawdsey (‘Board-see’) WC Public T Hollesley repositioned a fine Norman doorway - With its clusters of pink pantiled cottages, Orford Castle englishheritage.org.uk S everyone to enjoy. ❹ Shottisham A port, an island, a secret spot to be in view of the rectory! thatched pub, weatherboarded water P Nearby Woodbridge and Orford also offer a where radar was invented – mill and St Margaret’s church peeping wide selection of B&Bs, hotels and pubs with Shingle Hollesley (‘Hoze-lee’) Countryside Code Ramsholt Bawdsey has been many things in its medieval tower above the trees, rooms. thesuffolkcoast.co.uk Alderton Street Plan ahead. Be prepared. its time. In 1880 stockbroker- MP It boasted a fishery, church and mill in Shottisham is true to the rural idyll • P • Follow paths, advice and local signs. Sir Cuthbert Quilter made it his Domesday times, but the largest village painted on its village sign. Its brook Bawdsey P own, building a quirky seaside on the Deben Peninsula today is winds across water-meadows to meet The Pocket Guide to the Deben Peninsula is • Consider the local community/others enjoying the outdoors. mansion – allegedly adding renowned for Hollesley Bay Stud the Deben at Shottisham Creek. produced by Deben Coastal Community Team • Be careful with naked flames/cigarettes at any time of the year R ❷ ive (est. 1759) – home of the Suffolk Punch • Leave gates/property as you find them. r D towers with every million he & East Suffolk Council. eb P e F made! Today a foot-ferry replaces Trust. Don’t miss its hilltop church with Sutton (‘Sut-ten’) • Take litter home. Clean up after your dog. n WC S his Deben steam chain-ferry. traces of medieval arcading and its two Home to farm- and heathland, to • Always keep dogs under close control, especially amongst A14 livestock/during bird nesting season. Release your dog if chased In the village, don't miss the rare colourful commons. world famous Anglo-Saxon ship-burial by cattle. Edward VIII post box! site, Sutton Hoo, and prehistoric forest site, Sutton Knoll, the parish of Sutton P is Suffolk’s largest and perhaps its most Quiet Lanes for Gentle Journeys Felixstowe BEAUTIFUL - NATURALLY intriguing. Wood Hall has reminders of All users are expected to respect each other on Purple Ling heather on Hollesley Common and the flit of a a priory governed by Ely abbots, even though powerful Butley Priory was ‘Quiet Lanes’ - designated minor. rural roads close Silver Studded Blue. Ground-nesting Little Terns amidst nearby. © 2021 Drab Ltd/Xtrahead Content, design & production: to other public rights of way Shingle Street’s sea kale. The chack-chack of a Stonechat wearedrab.co.uk / xtrahead.co.uk Illustration: wearedrab.co.uk Photography: xtrahead.co.uk Please slow down and greet those you meet! perched on Sutton Heath gorse. A Common lizard basking by the sandy woodland track. A Marsh Harrier GETTING AROUND circling the reedbeds by Boyton Dock. Waders putting Explore THESUFFOLKCOAST.CO.UK By Road: A12 (Ipswich/London/ their best foot forward by old Deben oyster beds near Lowestoft) Awesome Events Shottisham Creek.